The Ekitai Alchemist
by Dylexa the Fangirl
Summary: After Roy sends The Ekitai alchemist-the alchemist of water-to be the Elric brother's escort, the three set out to find the philosopher's stone, facing dead ends again and again. Will the Ekitai alchemist help the brothers achieve their goals? Feel free to read, but this is an old story that I'm moving from my original account to this new one for old stories.
1. Chapter 1

**(To those of you who are about to read this, feel free to do so, but this is an old story of mine. I am moving it from my original account to this new account, which is mainly for old stories that I do not wish to keep on my main account, which is named _Dylexa_. I won't have anything good up there for a while, sadly. I am working on it though!)**

**CHAPTER ONE:**

**A soul, a midget, and a duck**

_He's short  
He's blond  
And he's partly made of metal  
Who is this kid?  
Why did he join the military at such a young age?  
Does he realize  
those golden eyes of his  
Will see more hell than he could bear?_

"I can't believe Mustang is making us travel with an escort," a young, short teenager with a head full of long blond hair that was braided back complained as he and a man in a suit of armor stood at a train station, waiting for their escort to finally come. Their train was about to arrive.

The boy was wearing a red hooded jacket that reached his knees, with a black shirt and pants underneath, along with black boots. Pale gloves the color of snow covered his hands.

"What do we do if she doesn't come by the time the train arrives?" The "man" in the suit of armor sounded much younger than the blond haired boy, despite the huge difference in their size.

"We'll ditch her. I never wanted an escort anyway."

If anyone knew better, they would know that these two males are the Elric brothers. Edward Elric, the blond haired boy and the older of the two, is a state alchemist. After losing his leg trying to bring back his mother, who died from being ill, and sacrificing his arm in a horribly desperate attempt to bring back his younger brother, Alphonse, the two have been on a quest to get their bodies back, since Alphonse is now a soul inside a hollow suit of armor, and since Ed's left leg and right arm are now metal.

"We can't just leave her, brother!" Alphonse cried in a frustrated tone. "That's mean!"

"Well, it was _mean_ of Mustang to send an escort in the first place!" Edward snapped back. "What the hell do we need an escort for? We can take care of ourselves just fine!"

Human transmutation is a forbidden art, and the punishment is severe. Something the Elric brothers learned the hard way.

"Well, Mustang _is_ an adult. He probably knows better…maybe we _do_ need an escort."

"I'd agree with you if it weren't for the fact that you were defending _Roy Mustang_." Ed smirked. "Anyway, what do you think our escort looks like? Mustang didn't give us anything at all to describe her, except 'she has a strangely familiar resemblance to you Ed! Not too much, but there's one trait that you two share! Har! Har! Har!'" Ed stuck his tongue out in disgust of how mean Mustang's laugh sounded. It felt as if Roy were taunting Edward about something like a note being stuck to his back without the young teen knowing it. Mustang often teased Edward about stuff like his height.

"Could be your hair," Al offered. "Or your temper."

Ed winced at the second comment from Alphonse.

"Hey, I'm just saying. You get mad really easy, brother. Especially when someone notices that you're short!"

"I AM NOT SHORT!"

"You're not proving your point very well," Alphonse remarked.

"I don't care."

"Let's just keep an eye out for someone."

The two boys scanned the train station for several minutes, searching for someone with blond hair, or maybe someone in the familiar uniform that the usual state alchemists always wore.

That's when they heard the ringing of a bell.

"That's a train," Alphonse said, bewildered, "and I think it's ours."

Alphonse's hypothesis was correct. Train number twenty-four, the train the Elric brothers were taking, was just pulling in. The doors opened slowly, and people started walking out right away.

"Well, let's get on," Edward said, grabbing his suitcase, obviously in a hurry to get on their train so he could ditch their escort.

"Brother! Wait a minute!" Alphonse scolded. "That's just rude! We should just _wait_!"

"Ugh!" Edward dropped his suitcase dramatically and started pouting, crossing his arms like a little kid.

_God, it's hard to believe that _I'm_ the younger brother sometimes_, Alphonse thought to himself, feeling quite annoyed that his _older_ brother was acting like a toddler. Alphonse thought that it should have been the other way around, but unfortunately, he couldn't get his way right now.

It was true, Alphonse did not want to have a total stranger following them around and cramping their style. What if this escort was a real big _bitch_? What if she was actually a spy?

But despite all these paradigms that Alphonse was having about their escort right now, he tried his best to be patient. It was the least he could do anyway, and besides, Alphonse did not like to be rude…unlike his older brother, who was often the bolder and more stubborn brother. If their mother would have been alive today to see her first son, she would have said something like "he's your father's son alright, Alphonse."

Alphonse had actually never seen his father very much in his life, since the man had abandoned the boys and their mother when Alphonse was only four, but he knew that Edward was probably more like their father than himself, despite the older brother's strong contempt for the man.

"HEY! WAIT FOR ME! GODDAMN TRAIN!"

The Elric brothers turned their heads in the direction of the shout. Running in their direction was a young girl who looked around Ed's or Al's age, wearing average clothes, including a long sleeved red shirt the color of blood, and dark blue jeans that were as baggy as a three-hundred-year-old man's face. Black combat boots placed on her feet hid under her jeans as well, and she was gripping a black backpack, trying desperately to keep it shut as she ran towards the train. Long, raven-black hair sprouted from the top of her head, sticking out all over the place as if she had just gotten out of bed and covered her face. From the part of her face the boys could see, it was obvious too them that she hadn't slept in days, because underneath all that hair, the brothers could see dark circles right under her green eyes.

She was almost a couple inches away from the brothers when she tripped, since her left shoelace was untied. All of the contents from her bag spilled out, and the girl cussed loudly.

Alphonse, being the polite young boy, quickly rushed over to the girl and helped pick up her belongings, and quickly but gently putting them back in her bag. The girl grimaced, closing her bag and got back on her feet, completely forgetting that her shoe was still untied. Alphonse saw that despite how old she looked, she seemed a bit shorter than normal…this reminded him of his brother. If Al had had his original face, he would have smirked.

He was sure that this young woman was their escort.

"That's the first time I actually tripped on my shoelace," the girl says, her voice making her sound like she was now seventeen instead of fifteen. She pulled back a bit of her hair, revealing normal sized ears with two studs in the two tiny holes, one a silver rose and the other a blue jewel. The two earrings reminded Alphonse of his old childhood friend Winry, whom he and Edward had lived with, along with her grandmother after the boy's mother had died (Winry had pierced her ears about four to five times already).

"They're untied all the time, and I've never tripped on them until today," the girl continued. "Thanks sir. I appreciate the help. My name is Rain Halpern, but obviously you can just use my first name. Some people shorten it out and call me 'R'. More for the young boys to call me it...seems like it makes them feel like that I'm not a girl hanging out with them, since most little boys prefer their own gender's company, or perhaps it makes them feel better that I at least sound like I'm a tomboy…but anyway, before I talk your ear off, I assume that you're the Fullmetal alchemist." Rain smirked after this, as if she had just thought of something funny. "Suites ya too."

"Actually, I'm not-"

"Alphonse, hurry up!" Edward walks up to the two, looking even more impatient than a boy his age should look. "I wanna ditch our escort!" He then sees Rain, and frowns. "Shit, this is her, isn't it?"

"_He's_ the Fullmetal alchemist," Alphonse finished, pointing to his brother. "Not me."

Rain snickered,

"I know. I'm not dumb. Roy told me to mess with the '_Short Devil'_," Edward flinched at the short comment, "he told me that Edward hates it when people mistake _you_ for the Fullmetal alchemist, Alphonse Elric."

"What did you call me?" Ed glared at Rain, his golden eyes seeming as sharp as daggers. "Short Devil, right? So you think that _you're_ tall? Midget?"

Rain smiled confidently. "I may be short, but I'm taller than _you_ at least, you _pixie_. C'mon, let's get on the train before it leaves! I'm not paying for new tickets!"

Dumbfounded by Rain's boldness, the two brothers followed her on the train.

…

As train number twenty-four dragged on through the country like scenery, the three kids sat in awkward silence, unsure how to start conversation. Rain's grass-green eyes were pinned to the window, while the brother's eyes were pinned to their feet.

"So, um…why were you _late_?" Ed finally asked, breaking the invisible plastic that kept the three silent. "I mean, if you're late, you'll be left behind. Obviously anybody, including a state alchemist would know that."

"Interesting question," Rain said, pulling her dark eyes away from the window. They shone in the light. "Why _was_ I late?" She smiled as Ed just stared at her as if she had grown a foot on her shoulder.

_This chick is weird,_ Edward thought. _Why would Mustang send such a weird girl to be our escort?_

"I'm always late," Rain admitted, running her girly fingers through her shiny black hair. "Mustang threatened to fire me a couple of times, but he never has. I think he's just bluffing. He knows that even the Fuhrer likes me too much to get rid of me!"

Ed and Al exchanged glances before looking at Rain again.

"How long have you been working for the military?" Alphonse asked.

Rain shrugged,

"Well, I'm fifteen, so…I'd say about two years…but to be honest, I've really done _nothing_ compared to _you_ Ed." Rain's green eyes shone with admiration. "Mustang told me your whole story…I respect you Ed…"

"Oh, well…" Ed figured out what Rain was talking about and frowned at the memory of the day the two boys had tried to bring back their mother, the most important person in their lives. He remembered the agony he had gone through….the real sad thing was that Ed was only eleven, and Al was only ten when the whole mess happened. "…thanks I guess."

Rain nodded shyly. "Look, I know that me being with you guys probably pisses you off a lot, but I promise I won't get in the way too much. Unless I'm protecting you guys from bastards who want to kill you, I'll just be like a shadow who talks way too much, since that's almost exactly what I am….I mean, if I were you guys, I'd try pretty hard to get rid of my escort. It's annoying really, having people you barely know follow you around _everywhere_, poking their little noses into business that's better left between you two! I mean, seriously! What the fuck, Mustang!"

_God, this chick doesn't even take a breath to speak,_ Ed thought. _I shouldn't have gotten her going._

But that last comment Rain had made gave Ed an idea.

"So…if you believe this so strongly, then how about you go back home?"

Rain rolled her eyes. "I'm not that dumb, Elric. I may be against the whole idea, but being the Ekitai Alchemist, it's my job to just follow orders, and not question against them…something _you_ should do more often."

Edward's face turned a dark shade of red. "I follow orders just fine."

"Oh, do you?" Rain smirked at Ed's dumbfounded look, "because, last time I checked, Mustang said you don't really follow orders that well."

"How much did that bastard _tell_ you?_!_?"

Rain just smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

**(To those of you who are about to read this, feel free to do so, but this is an old story of mine. I am moving it from my original account to this new account, which is mainly for old stories that I do not wish to keep on my main account, which is named _Dylexa_. I won't have anything good up there for a while, sadly. I am working on it though!)**

**CHAPTER TWO:**

**Tired green eyes and a hungry stomach **

_She stays awake each night  
Each night to avoid that horrible fright  
That horrible fright that enters her dreams  
Never sleeps a blink, that girl  
What the hell is wrong with her?_

"Roy! Have I shown you that new picture of my daughter yet?" Maes Hughes, a young man who seemed to be around his late twenties or early thirties asked as he waved a picture of a little girl with light brown pigtails. He was trying to brag about his daughter to Roy Mustang again.

Roy sighed, holding his head in his left hand. He had been working on paper work when Maes had walked in. "Yes, Hughes. You've shown me that picture five times today, and it's not even lunch time yet. Go back to your office."

"It's obvious you're jealous," Maes smirked. General Hughes had black hair like Roy and Rain, and hazel eyes hid behind small glasses. His beard was short like his hair, and he was about the same height as Roy. "Elicia is so smart! She's turning three in a couple weeks too!"

"Yes, I know. You've told me _that_ five times today too. And you've told me several times the other day…why are you here?"

"What, can't I stop by to say hi?"

"You know that you're not supposed to leave your office during work hours unless it's important. And no, you're life outside of work does not count," Roy added.

"Seems like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

Roy sighed again. "I'm just worried about the Elric brother's escort, the Ekitai Alchemist."

"You mean _Rain_? _She's_ Ed and Al's escort? She's got quite a mouth, that girl."

Roy nodded. "Generally, I think she's a bit annoying…"

"Is that why you sent her to be the brother's escort? Just to get her out of here? Because I don't think those boys really need someone to protect them…I've heard quite a lot about those two."

"Well, that's partly the reason," said Roy. "Rain's been sitting in this building for two years now, so I might as well give her something to do."

"Do you think she'll prove to be a good escort?"

"She better prove it. She passed the test to become a state alchemist two years ago, and she's barley been able to do to anything else since. I don't even know how she was able to maintain her position during evaluation day." Another sigh and Roy rubbed his head.

"You're being too hard on her," Maes said calmly to his companion, "She's still a child." He glanced at the clock hanging behind Roy's desk and gasped. "Oh dear, I've been out too long! See ya later Roy!" Maes walked out of the room swiftly, almost tripping in the process.

_She may still be a child,_ Roy thought,_ but she's defiantly been through more than a child should have gone through. She is actually no different from Fullmetal._

Roy heaved out another tired breath, and went back to his papers.

…

"Miss Rain?" Alphonse shook Rain lightly on her shoulder. Her grassy green orbs hid behind her eye lids, and her whole face was set in a loose frown. As she breathed lightly, Alphonse couldn't help but think about how his brother slept with the same expression. "…um…we're here, Rain."

"Al, you're not gonna wake her up like _that_," Edward scoffed, standing up so he could be closer to their escort. "You're too gentle."

"At least I don't have a temper," Al muttered softly.

"You gotta wake her up like this," Ed continued, either ignoring or not hearing his little brother. Alphonse couldn't tell as his older brother placed his hands on Rain's semi-broad shoulders. "WAKE UP YOU BITCH!"

"Brother!"

Rain's green eyes opened suddenly, and she pushed Edward's hands off her shoulders.

"What?"

_Damn, I thought that'd scare her,_ Edward couldn't help but think. _How could she not freak out?_

Rain smirked calmly, having no trace of surprise at all. "It's gonna take a lot more than _that_, Elric." She stretched her long arms out over her head and let out a small yawn. "I once knew someone who did the exact thing every morning…except his language wasn't so_ foul_…and he wasn't a midget."

"Why you little!-" Edward trembled with anger as Rain stood up, pulling her black back pack over her shoulder and taking Edward's brown suit-case as well. "What the hell is your problem?_!_"

"Brother, please calm down," Alphonse sighed, putting his hand on Ed's shoulder as if that single touch would prevent the violent teenager from attacking the strange girl. "She's being nice enough to carry your bag."

"That's right Fullmetal," Rain said teasingly, sounding just like Roy, which only made Edward angrier. "C'mon boys! The train won't wait on us forever!"

The three walked up to the train entrance, and the two brothers were about to walk out, but Rain pulled at Edward's braid, and Alphonse's single long streak of white "hair" that came from the head of his suit of armor.

"What's the hold up?" Edward asked impatiently.

"Oh…well…" Rain's chuckle sounded forced, "Heh…um…where _are_ we exactly?"

Edward cocked an eyebrow. "I think the town is called Uruoi…right Al?"

"Yup. We're here because there's a good library here."

Rain's grip on the boy's hair slipped away and the three walked out of the train. The two brothers thought they heard a small sigh of relief slip from Rain's lips as she walked out. They guessed she had just felt a bit cramped being in a train for several hours, and perhaps _that_ was why their escort had been so squeamish about their next location.

"I heard that 'Uruoi' meant 'damp'," said Rain, sounding back to her normal, cheery self, "this city is also known for its moist soil, so that means that this town has good crops. Must be easy to plant on such good soil…"

"Where did you hear that?" Alphonse asked.

"Not really sure," Rain shrugged, "…I think I read it in a book once. Before, when I was working in central, I had quite a bit of time to read, since there was really not much to do."

"What did you read about?"

"Hard to say…I just read anything that anyone would throw at me…although, recently I've been catching up on alchemy books, since my alchemy is getting to be a bit rusty."

"Anything on the philosopher's stone?" Edward almost demanded excitedly.

Rain rolled her eyes. "Don't you think I'd _tell_ you if I found anything?"

Edward heaved out a disappointed breath quite dramatically. "Yeah, good point."

…

"Alphonse, did you find anything yet?"

"Nothing, brother. There wasn't even a _mention_ of the philosopher's stone! I don't think we're going to find anything here." Alphonse closed the big heavy book he had been reading in defeat.

"What about Lior?" Rain suggested, closing a book similar to Alphonse's, "I think I heard about a couple of 'miracles' there. Maybe you could find a stone there."

"Nope, already tried Lior," Edward sighed, resting his head on his metal arm. "The whole thing was a big fake. At the last minute the stone just _broke_."

"So you're saying that the stone was a fake?"

Edward nodded, his heart solemn.

"Well…" Rain stood up, stretching out her arms over her head like she did on the train. "Let's just try to find an inn to stay at for the night or something. I'm sure after a goodnight's rest you'll figure out something. Who knows, maybe tomorrow if you come back here you might find something."

"Maybe," Ed sighed again. "Alright Al, let's go."

"Alright."

…

Rain was not sure how late it was as she sat in the dark motel room, but judging by the fact that Edward was well into his dreams, occasionally mumbling in his slumber, it was pretty fairly late. It was probably one or two o'clock at the latest.

Rain was generally not the person to sleep very much. She knew what people had always said, especially Colonel Mustang and maybe even General Hughes.

_"No wonder you're so short,"_ Roy would scoff, _"Half of the time you grow is in your sleep. You'll end up being shorter than _Edward_!"_

_"You'd probably be a lot stronger if you slept more," _Maes would inform Rain. Then he would point at the dark circles that seemed like scars under the teen's eyes, _"Those circles under your eyes are almost as dark as your _hair_. Take a nap!"_

Almost everyone would notice the circles under Rain's eyes, especially Alex Armstrong, the Strong arm Alchemist. He was quite "melodramatic" as Rain put it. Whenever he was in central, he would usually shout out dramatically how sorry he felt for Rain and then pull her into a horribly tight hug that left her shoulders feeling sore.

Rain really didn't see the big deal though. Sure, she could use some more sleep. Sure, she was sometimes pretty tired. Sure, every once in a while she could feel her fatigue catching up to her.

That didn't really bother Rain though. It was easy to ignore, as long as she was occupied by something to keep her from thinking about it. As long as she was happy really, she didn't see the problem in practically _avoiding_ sleep.

Besides, even if she _wanted_ to sleep right now, she had a feeling that she should probably stay awake in case anyone tried to break into their room. Even if she was a light sleeper (or so she thought), she didn't want to wake up to find Edward's corpse sprawled across the floor, beaten and bloody.

That last thought sent chills down Rain's back. She glanced at Edward, who was still sleeping in the bed by the small window in the room. Rain wondered what he could be dreaming about as he unconsciously turned in bed, his back now facing the window. The teenager's hair, Rain saw, was now messy and his braid had undone itself hours ago while Ed had first fallen asleep.

"I think you should try to get some sleep," Alphonse suddenly announced, quietly so he wouldn't wake his brother, but loud enough so Rain could hear. The younger Elric brother was sitting on the bed next to Edward's bed.

Rain almost jumped, but she gripped the side of the couch right by the three beds and held her breath. She didn't want to wake up Ed. He had looked too peaceful, and Rain didn't want to destroy this peace.

"It's okay," Alphonse continued, "just because you're supposed to protect us, doesn't mean you have to stay up all night. To be honest, I don't really think we _need_ protection. At least, not tonight. You should try to rest. I saw those dark circles under your eyes."

Rain grimaced and rubbed the back of her head, unsure of how else to react. "No, it's fine. I don't really sleep much."

"Why not?"

Rain's grimace became more somber and she sighed.

She knew exactly why she never liked to sleep.

There was really only one reason, and this reason seemed to present itself day after day in Rain's head.

The Elric brother's escort shook her head solemnly.

"It's…it's hard to say, really…" Rain ran her fingers through her shiny black hair. "…it's hard to say, kid."

"Oh…" Alphonse seemed to understand. He knew the feeling of having a deep dark secret he couldn't tell anyone, since he and his brother basically had to keep it a secret from everyone that the two boys had attempted human transmutation. The consequence of that traumatic night hung over the two brothers' heads every day, lingering in their hearts like a bitter taste.

"I understand…" Alphonse said sadly, trying to forget about the horrific night of hell.

"Thanks Al." Rain stood up, deciding that she had been sitting on the couch for too long. She was starting to go numb.

"So, um…do you sleep at all?"

"Of course," Rain said, "I sleep. Like today on the train…and sometimes I fell asleep at work when I was in central…that counts, right?"

Alphonse shook his head.

"I sometimes sleep at night too."

"You should try a little more," Alphonse insisted.

Rain crossed her arms. "Excuse me, but I'm older than you, so there for you have no power over _me_."

_She sounds just like brother._

"It's none of your concern anyway," Rain continued, leaning against the couch with her arms still crossed, "you sound like everyone in central. _'Oh Rain! You look exhausted! You know sleep is important for a girl your age!'_" Rain glared at Alphonse. "I don't _need_ anyone telling me what I should do. Not from any adult, and especially not from _you_. Understand kid?"

"Okay, sheesh," Alphonse waved his hands in defeat, not wanting Rain to start yelling. Her voice was getting threateningly loud. "You sound just like brother."

Rain chuckled. "You mean that_ pipsqueak_? Hm, that's a first. Not even Roy says that."

Al didn't know what to say, so he just kept quiet.

…

"Looks like that Fullmetal pipsqueak found a girlfriend," A woman with long dark hair said with a smirk. She sat comfortably in the trees just a couple miles out of town. Sitting next to her was a man who was way past the paunch stage in obesity.

"She's actually not that bad in looks," the woman continued, sounding a bit jealous. "Too bad she won't be a good candidate for our plan, Gluttony."

The man, Gluttony, bit his thumb and his stomach grumbled. "Can I eat her Lust?"

"Not yet," Lust said smoothly, running her gloved hands through her beautiful hair.

Gluttony moaned disappointedly, sucking on his plump thumb.

"You can eat her when she's separated from the Fullmetal Alchemist," Lust replied to Gluttony's complaint. "I don't want the Pipsqueak and Armor boy knowing who we are just yet…I'm sure your snack will be coming along very soon."

Gluttony stared out into the distance, as if his soon to be new victim was watching them.


End file.
